Eversheds and Sutherland confirm and explain possible merger

Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan have confirmed that they are in late-stage merger talks and cited enhanced capacity to offer high-quality, consistent and coordinated service around the world as the rationale.

The firms say they have put forth a proposal to their Partners and will run their internal processes concurrently with a formal vote by both partnerships likely to take place before year-end.

A new entity called Eversheds Sutherland, overseen by a global Board and with equal representation from each firm, would be created by the merger, the firms confirmed. Eversheds Sutherland would have more than 2,300 lawyers and a global footprint spanning 61 offices in 29 countries.

Currently, Eversheds has 55 offices in 28 jurisdictions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia where about 3,500 employees work. The firm has more than 500 partners and almost 2,000 lawyers.

“Eversheds has an exceptionally strong reputation for international client service and our strategic ambition is to provide a high-quality offering and a single legal solution to clients wherever they are required globally,” said Eversheds chief executive Bryan Hughes.

“Joining forces with Sutherland will give each firm’s clients a global platform and we will be discussing the proposal with our Partners positively in the coming weeks,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sutherland has more than 600 staff, including 170 partners and more than 200 additional lawyers. It has offices in the key US cities of Atlanta, Austin, Houston, New York, Sacramento, California and Washington DC. It also has offices in London and Geneva.

In FY15-16, Sutherland reported revenues of US$300 million (about $406 million) for a net profit of US$121 million (about $163.76 million), providing profit per equity partner of more than US$1 million (about $1.35 million).

“As our clients continue to pursue many of the most important and complex business opportunities around the world, our attorneys continue to seek ways to enhance the firm’s long standing tradition of providing clients with the highest quality service and innovative solutions,” said Sutherland managing partner Mark Wasserman.

“We look forward to discussions over the next few weeks about the opportunities this transaction will bring to our clients,” Wasserman added.